'PM HAS SOLD OUT ON YORKS' Tory call for HBOS banking jobs pledge.

Byline: By HENRYK ZIENTEK Business Reporter

KIRKLEES Council leader Clr Robert Light has accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of "selling out" West Yorkshire in the controversial takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland by Lloyds TSB.

Tory leader Clr Light said Mr Brown had failed to provide guarantees that jobs in Yorkshire would be safe following the Government-sponsored deal.

Clr Light, who is also chairman of the Leeds City Region, a group made up of local council leaders, said he wrote to the Prime Minister in September to express his concerns about the impact of the merger on jobs in West Yorkshire, where the Halifax employs thousands of people.

In that letter, he also called for a guarantee that the merged bank would retain a Yorkshire base for HBOS and demanded assurances that the Government would work with council leaders in the region "to secure a positive future for the financial industry in the area".

But Clr Light said he had received no reply and now believed local jobs were being "sold down the river".

His comments came as it emerged that a tie-up between HBOS and Lloyds TSB was now expected to bring savings of pounds 1.5bn a year - 50% higher than expected.

There is speculation that at least 20,000 jobs will go to help achieve that figure.

The Government is contributing pounds 4bn to the bailout, and is guaranteeing a further pounds 13bn if the new bank cannot attract investors for the remainder of the pounds 17bn bailout plan.

Said Clr Light: "There have been no guarantees about jobs in the West Yorkshire region and - despite writing to the Prime Minister in my capacity as chairman of the Leeds City Region - I have not had the courtesy of a reply.

"Initially we speculated 15,000 jobs would go because of the merger. But because of the expected savings increasing by 50% it is quite obvious that there will be more job losses. These are effectively Government sponsored job losses funded by the taxpayer.

"I believe - reading between the lines and noting comments coming out of Scotland - that West Yorkshire and the Halifax bases of HBOS will suffer to benefit a Scottish base.

"Gordon Brown has sold out on Yorkshire as he desperately tries to fight off the SNP threat in his native Scotland.

The repercussions of this for Halifax, and the damage done to West Yorkshire and its reputation as a key financial base could be devastating."

Meanwhile, Britain's biggest trade union, Unite urged the banks to "end the speculation" over jobs and offer clarity to worried staff.

Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: "It is completely unacceptable for the banks to continue fuelling speculation while leaving their worried staff in the dark. It is nowtime to start thinking about the human consequences of this takeover."

In trading statements released by both banks, troubled bank HBOS revealed a further pounds 2.72bn hit from the credit crunch, while Lloyds said it had seen a "substantial reduction" in profits since the start of the year.

CAPTION(S):

CONCERNS: The Conservative leader of Kirklees Council, Clr Robert Light (left), has accused Gordon Brown of selling Yorkshire jobs "down the river" in the Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS; BAILOUT: The Halifax base (above) could bear the brunt of job loses compared with Scotland